OpTic Gaming is an American eSports organization. Founded in the summer of 2006, OpTic Gaming currently fields teams in Call of Duty, Counter-Strike, Halo, and Gears of War.

Biography

Organization

OpTic Gaming is one of the more storied organizations within the competitive side of the Call of Duty franchise. Established in 2006 by OpTic KR3W for the aspirations of becoming a Call of Duty sniping team, they are now much more than that. Only leading OpTic for a short time, KR3W steps down and OpTic Jon3S (OpTicJ) then takes his place. Jon3S only leading the team for a very short time span as well, in 2007, steps down to then hand over the team to Hector “H3CZ” Rodriguez. H3CZ running the team for two years before uploading their first video to YouTube in 2009. Making a name for himself as well as OpTic Gaming, H3CZ and his team now have over 1,000,000 YouTube subscribers. The same year OpTic Gaming started uploading to YouTube, H3CZ had established a Call of Duty competitive team that would become one of the teams with the biggest fanbases and presence in the community to ever play the game. In 2014, they launched their Halo team and in 2016, they launched a Counter Strike: Global Offensive team.

Black Ops

The Rise of OpTic

OpTic Gaming’s pro team was established in 2010 with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 being the game of choice, OpTic Gaming went on to place top eight in two events that year. These events were the MLG Online National Championship where OpTic Gaming placed 8th and the MLG National Championship 2010 where OpTic Gaming took 4th place and $2,000 in prize money. Heading into 2011 and Call of Duty: Black Ops, on January 24, OpTic Gaming placed 2nd in the MLG $25K tournament with BigTymeR, MerK, ProoFy and Rambo finishing just under Quantic.LeveraGe. April of 2011 brought MLG Dallas 2011, where OpTic Gaming placed 3rd and took home $4,000 with the roster of BigTymeR, MerK, JKap and NaDeSHoT. NaDeSHoT and JKap replaced Rambo and ProoFy between the two events. The next event at which OpTic placed well was MLG Columbus 2011, but prior to that event, OpTic Gaming undertook a new first in competitive Call of Duty: a second team. This second team consisted of NaDeSHoT, ProoFy, Felonies and Option.

Finishing Out The Season

OpTic Gaming continued in the Call of Duty: Black Ops season with BigTymeR, MerK, Rambo and JKap. Placing 3rd at MLG Anaheim, 4th at MLG Raleigh, and 1st at MLG Orlando, they ended the season with a 3rd place finish at MLG National Championship 2011.

Modern Warfare 3

A Year of Success

When Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 came out, OpTic Gaming revised their roster with a new set of players consisting of BigTymeR, MerK, NaDeSHoT and Vengeance. Rambo was released due to conflicting issues within the United States. The next tournament became one of OpTic Gaming’s biggest accomplishments, Call of Duty XP. At the event, they placed 1st over Til' Infinity, IcoNs and infused. After XP, BigTymeR, MerK, and Rambo finished out the Call of Duty: Black Ops season and then reunited at the start of the new game with Black Ops breakout player, Scump. This roster made the switch to apeX.NA for a few events. During that time, the first ever UMG LAN tournament was held and OpTic Gaming placed 3rd at the event with a team of NexXx, NaDeSHoT, Saints and Krump. After UMG Classic, OpTic Gaming was left without a team and solely focused on YouTube until EGL 7, where BigTymeR, MerK, Rambo and Scump returned to the organization and won the event. This powerhouse of a team took home 1st and then 2nd place to finish out the rest of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 season and was considered to be the most dominant team of the season.

Black Ops II

The Return Of NaDeSHoT

Before Frag Cup IV, OpTic decided to drop Rambo both for not being able to compete because he lived in Canada and for other team reasons. After making a decision, OpTic Gaming again picked up NaDeSHoT. NaDeSHoT continued to play alongside BigTymeR, MerK and Scump to finish in multiple top four and top eight spots including a 1st place victory during UMG Chicago.

Ghosts

The Fall of OpTic?

Heading into Call of Duty: Ghosts, the OpTic Gaming team started to fall short of top eight finishes at events, both online and on LAN. After the MLG Fall Championship in Columbus, Ohio, JKap was dropped and OpTic Gaming picked up Ricky. Shortly after UMG Philadelphia, BigTymeR announced that he would be retiring from competitive Call of Duty and coaching the OpTic Gaming squad. Following an avalanche of team changes, OpTic Gaming landed with NaDeSHoT, Scump, Clayster and MBoZe who went on to compete in the 2014 Call of Duty Championship, placing 3rd and taking home $120,000. After Champs, OpTic made a huge announcement: once again, they formed a second team. The team consisted of MBoZe as captain with MiRx, KiLLa and Ricky underneath. This left NaDeSHoT to captain OpTic Gaming with teammates Clayster, Scump, and ProoFy. They ended up with two OpTic teams once again, OpTic Gaming and OpTic Nation.

Soon after OpTic Gaming had a T8 placing at UGC Niagara, MLG announced the X Games Invitational held in Austin, Texas. After their sweet victories over rivals Evil Geniuses (formerly known as compLexity) and EnVyUs, OpTic reached a Grand Final against Team KaLiBeR. In a tight Game 5, OpTic pulled out the victory on Sovereign Search and Destroy 6-4 and gained their first Call of Duty Ghosts LAN tournament victory, along with an X Games Gold Medal.

OpTic Gaming attended and competed at UMG Dallas and came home with an 4th place finish for $2,000, just above Most Wanted in 5th. The team then went on to UMG Nashville to try to get another win under the OpTic name in the penultimate North American event of Call of Duty: Ghosts. OpTic Gaming finished second in their pool due to map count, after finished 2-1 and involved in a 3 way tie. They lost to Rise in pool play but managed to secure a satisfying 3-0 win over rival team Evil Geniuses, before being knocked out in round 5 of the losers bracket yet again by Rise to finish a respectable 5th-6th going into their final event of Call of Duty: Ghosts.

Advanced Warfare

New Game, New Roster

As is customary, upon the release of a new title, RosterMania began. OpTic Gaming was no exception in this wave of roster changes. Five days after Advanced Warfare was released, NaDeSHoT announced that Clayster and ProoFy were being released from OpTic Gaming as they picked up FormaL. A few days later, OpTic Gaming announced their two new rosters for Advanced Warfare, with OpTic Gaming's consisting of NaDeSHoT, Scump, FormaL, and Crimsix.OpTic Gaming came into MLG Columbus with the number one overall seeding having won both the 5K and 10K tournaments. They went in losing only 1 series in their pool, and then ended up coasting through the bracket into the Grand Finals to play a FaZe Clan coming out of the Loser's Bracket. The Red Militia bested the GreenWall in 2 best of 5s sending OpTic home in 2nd place with $6,000 and 15,000 pro points each. Following their 2nd place finish at MLG Columbus, OpTic Gaming dominated the competition by taking home 1st place at UMG Orlando, MLG Pro League Season 1 with a 38-6 record (which is the best league record in any MLG league season by a team to date), MLG Pro League Season 1 Playoffs losing only 3 maps overall, Call of Duty Championship 2015: NA Regional Finals with an 18-1 map count record, and many online tournaments. They entered the 2015 Call of Duty Championship as the number 1 seed and tournament favorites, but were ultimately bested after sweeping their pool by both former OpTic member Clayster's Denial eSports and OpTic rival ACHES' FaZe Red. OpTic Gaming beat Team Kaliber to solidify a 7th place finish for the GreenWall.

NaDeSHoT's Departure

On April 4th, 2015, NaDeSHoT stepped away from the competitive Call of Duty scene after OpTic Gaming's disappointing 7th place finish at the Call of Duty Championship 2015. He said his reasoning came from his lack of drive to win and a desire to focus on YouTube and Streaming. Following his departure, Karma came aboard as OpTic's fourth and Scump was made the team's captain. They then traveled to Europe to where they finished in 1st place at ESWC 2015 and Gfinity Spring Masters 1 in Paris and London, respectively, with Enable replacing Karma. OpTic, looking to win three tournaments in three weeks, entered UMG California 2015 with Karma returning after his absence from the team in Europe. The GreenWall made their way through pool play and bracket play with ease until they met a resilient FaZe Clan that won the first best of five match 3-2in the Grand Finals, forcing a second best of five. OpTic came out much hotter this series, winning it 3-0 to be crowned the UMG California champions, completing their "3peat" in 3 weeks in 3 different countries. OpTic Gaming headed into Advanced Warfare's Season 2 Playoffs at XGAMES with the number one seed because of their 34-10 record and with three wins at the last three tournaments. OpTic defended the title against FaZe Clan in the finals yet again, and won back to back XGAMES gold medals with a 16-2 map win-loss count. This victory made them and Scump the only organization and player to win more than 1 gold medal in all of eSports.

A Fall From Grace and Rise Back To The Top

After their success at XGames, OpTic continued to grow alongside new addition Karma and went on to be successful in Season 3 of the MLG Pro League. However, as they continued, a huge deal was made, in which Clayster and Attach were swapped for SlasheR and Huke between Denial eSports and FaZe Clan, respectively. As a result of the huge move, FaZe took their momentum into the next few LAN events events. During UMG Dallas 2015, OpTic was upset by Epsilon.NA and dropped down into the loser's bracket. Although they made a successful run through it, they faced a rested and relaxed FaZe squad. According to Scump, his "hands were literally shaking" from being so tired of playing. They went on to lose the Grand Finals 3-0 and took a second place finish for the first time against Faze. These two squads later met each other at the Gfinity Summer Championship in the United Kingdom. OpTic Gaming made their way to the finals in a relatively simple fashion, and it was widely speculated that they would face FaZe again in the Grand Finals. In the Grand Finals, OpTic took a 3-1 lead in the best of 7 series. However, everyone was shocked as FaZe completed a 3-1 comeback to steal the championship away from the GreenWall.

After Pro League difficulties and a league reset, OpTic went into UMG Washington D.C. 2015 confident and well-practiced. OpTic was placed in Pool A alongside Rise Nation, TCM Gaming, Stunner Gaming, and Onslaught eSports. They would go on to take the pool 4-0, with a map count of 12-1. They had only dropped a map to TCM Gaming, which has two of Crimsix's and Karma's old teammates. After everyone was surprised that FaZe would be put in the loser's bracket off the bat, OpTic would go on to 3-1 and 3-2 Orbit and Team EnVyUs to advance to the Winner's Bracket Finals. Crimsix later stated that nV was their hardest match of the tournament since they were down 0-2 in the series and because the games were extremely close. OG would face the 2015 World Champion organization, Denial eSports, in the Winner's Bracket Finals. This series ended up being a very close 3-0 sweep for the GreenWall, including a last second shot from Scump to win the Uplink by 1 point. They would face Denial again in the Grand Finals, this time with the Wolf Pack coming off of a 3-2 victory over MES champions, eLevate. However the results weren't very different, OpTic would 3-0 them again to gain their place back at the top and to take home another championship for the GreenWall.

The success in D.C. didn't stop there, after the final matches of Season 3 were streamed it was shown that OpTic Gaming went 11-0 in the season to take the first seed going into the MLG Pro League Season 3 Playoffs. They went in confident with the amount of practice that they had gotten in all gamemodes, and earned themselves a bye in the first round with the number 1 seed. Their first two matches were against Rise Nation and iSolation Empire, these teams proved to be little competition to the GreenWall as they went on to 4-1 and 4-0 both of these teams respectively. They would go on to face the dark horse of the tournament, Epsilon eSports, in the Winner's Bracket Finals. This team was coming off wins against top teams like Denial, Team eLevate, and FaZe Clan, they carried their momentum into the match against OpTic as they took them the distance. However, OpTic Gaming clutched up round 11 on Recovery SnD in game 7 and advanced to the Grand Finals of another LAN event. In this Grand Finals they faced off against their rivals, FaZe Clan, once again. The Red Militia once again broke through the GreenWall and won two best of 7s with both having a map count of 4-1. This marked the first time OpTic lossed at the MLG.tv arena in Advanced Warfare.

After the road bump at S3 Playoffs, OpTic Gaming went home and recollected themselves as they practiced for the final major LAN event in AW, the MLG World Finals. They were placed in pool A with Team Kaliber, Team infused, XGN Competitive, and Thrust Nation came from the open bracket. Only infused gave them trouble by forcing OG to mount an 0-2 comeback, which they ended up doing and finishing the pool in first, with a 4-0 win count and 12-2 map count. All matches in the Winner's Bracket would be best of 7 series, OpTic coasted through their side of the bracket by beating JusTus, Team EnVyUs, and won the Winner's Bracket finals against Team eLevate with the scores of the matches being 4-1, 4-0, and then 4-2. Then OpTic Gaming found themselves in the last Grand Finals in AW, but not against the team they or anyone expected after FaZe Clan was eliminated early on by Denial eSports. So, OpTic faced off against Denial in the Grand Finals for the fifth and final time. After losing the first map by a few points, OpTic would sweep Denial 4-0 to hoist the MLG World Finals and the final trophy in Advanced Warfare. This marked OpTic's most successful year by far. They won 9 championships, all 3 of the online Pro League Season, appeared in 10/11 Grand Finals, they won many online tournaments hosted by MLG and UMG, and earned 1,651,320 pro points.

Black Ops III

Back in Black

Heading into the Call of Duty: Black Ops III season, many teams were looking to make roster changes, while OpTic Gaming was going in as the most dominant team in the previous title and season. After winning 9 championships in AW, many people still asked whether or not OpTic Gaming would be making any roster changes for the new game. It was confirmed by the captain of the team, Scump, on stream and in some of his videos confirmed that they would not be making any changes to their roster because of their recent and past success.

The first live LAN event was announced on November 11th, 2015. It was the Totino's Invitational 2015 and it would be a one day event that would be streamed on Twitch and hosted on November 14th. The team traveled to Columbus, Ohio, and their first match was against the former Team Revenge, now playing under Team eLevate. OpTic took the Hardpoint on Breach with ease, winning with a score of 250-148, then lost the Uplink on Evac 6-13, and finally took the Search and Destroy 6-3 to take the series 2-1. They then advanced to the semi-finals to play the returning organization of compLexity. The Hardpoint on Fringe was a little bit closer with OG winning 250-185, lost Stronghold CTF 1-2, and then winning the Search and Destroy in a dominating fashion with a score of 6-1. With the 2-1 victory over coL, OpTic Gaming advanced to another grand finals with their opponent being Rise Nation this time. Rise put up a fight that most people didn't see coming, they dominated OpTic on Combine Hardpoint with a score of 250-136. OG bounced right back by taking both the Search and Destroy on Evac and the Uplink on Stronghold with scores of 6-1 and 9-4 before dropping the Capture The Flag on Fringe 1-3. The game 5, Breach Search and Destroy went the distance as the two teams battle back an forth to round 11. Slacked ended up getting a very important 2 piece with his specialist that ultimately left Karma in a tough situation. The clock ended up running out, thus meaning that Rise Nation were victorious and giving OpTic their first second place finish in the Call of Duty: Black Ops III season.

After qualifying for the 2016 NA CWL Stage 1 Regular Season, OpTic Gaming played 22 matches against 11 other teams, and ended up with a record of 20-2. In between the Stage 1 duration, OpTic headed out to UMG South Carolina 2016, where they sought redemption for their 2nd place finish at the Totino's Invitational 2015. They started out the tournament by playing against Jester eSports first round, where they ended up winning the series 4-0. From then, OpTic went on to play against H2k-Gaming. During this time, multiple complaints about Bluetooth interference with the PlayStation 4 controllers ended up becoming a serious problem during the event. OpTic took Map 1, but H2k ended up winning 3 more games to have themselves up 3-1 in the BO7. With resilience, OpTic ended up taking the next 2 maps to force a Game 7. Before the Game 7, all spectators were warned to turn off their cell phones, as they believed that the Bluetooth signal would affect the controllers of the players. H2k ended up closing out the SnD, 6-2, and sent OpTic Gaming home with a 5-8th place finish.

Disappointed and angry, OpTic Gaming went into the 2016 NA CWL Stage 1 Playoffs with the number 1 seed, determined to conquer the event and dethrone Rise Nation as the best team in Black Ops 3. OpTic faced off against Team SoloMid first round, where OpTic took first map with Karma making insane plays with the Tempest. TSM fired back and took Map 2, as well as a Map 3: Breach Uplink. Going into Map 4, OpTic ended up taking it to tie the series 2-2 in the BO7. TSM took Map 5, and were up 3-2 in the BO7, making OpTic face elimination. However, OpTic won Map 6 and Map 7: Stronghold SnD, 6-3 to win the series 4-3, and eliminate TSM from the tournament. Championship Sunday, OpTic faced off against Team eLevate, where they swept them with a 4-0 win to face no other than Rise Nation in the grand finals. OpTic started out the series with a 3-0 advantage in the BO7, including a Fringe Uplink win with a score of 14-2. However, Rise started to climb their way back into the series into ultimately forcing a Game 7, in hopes of completing a reverse sweep. On Infection SnD, OpTic were up 5-3, and Rise took the next two rounds of SnD to force a Round 11. FormaL and Scump killed 2 players, giving themselves a 4v2 advantage, but quickly after, Classic and Octane killed Scump and Crimsix, evening the round in a 2v2 situation. However, Karma ended up picking up a massive 2 piece against Classic and Octane, to win the round and ultimately OpTic beats Rise in an intense BO7, winning 4-3. In addition, this tournament win gives OpTic their first 1st place finish at a LAN event for Black Ops 3.

After their win at the 2016 NA CWL Stage 1 Playoffs, OpTic went over to Melbourne, Australia to attend the Crown Melbourne Invitational 2016, being the only North American team at this event. In the tournament, OpTic had a first round bye. OpTic faced off against Plantronics Tainted Minds and won the series in a 4-0 sweep. OpTic then faced off against Millenium in the finals of the event, where OpTic took the series, 4-1, and took home the championship.

The OpTic boys then went on to attend ESWC 2016 to defend their title. During the group stage, OpTic faced off against Supremacy and won the series 3-0. Then they faced off against Millenium, a rematch of the Crown Melbourne Invitational 2016 final, where this time OpTic lost the series 1-3. OpTic had to go to the lower bracket of the group stage and once again faced off against Supremacy, and defeated them in a 3-0 sweep, ultimately giving OpTic a 2nd place finish in groups and making it to the championship bracket. In the bracket, OpTic faced off against Team Infused first round, and took the series 3-1. Then they faced off against Millenium again, seeking revenge for their loss to them in groups. OpTic went on to win the series 3-0 against Millenium, going to the finals against Splyce, who took out FaZe Clan and Rise Nation. However, Splyce's upsets couldn't handle OpTic, as big plays by Scump helped OpTic to take the series, 3-0, and give them another tournament win at ESWC 2016.

Coming back home to the United States, OpTic headed to the MLG Anaheim Open 2016. Prior to this event, OpTic have never won an MLG Anaheim event before. In Groups, OpTic faced off against Cloud9 in groups and won the series 3-1, which included an insane 1v4 by Crimsix in the second map, Hunted SnD. They faced off against Team SoloMid, winning that series 3-0 as well. Then they faced off against Team Lethal, who came from the Open Bracket. OpTic won the series 3-1, putting OpTic 1st in the group, having a 3-0 record, and proceeding to the championship bracket. In the bracket, OpTic faced off against Luminosity Gaming first round. OpTic took the first map, Stronghold HP, in a convincing victory with big plays by Scump and FormaL. However, on the second map, Breach SnD, OpTic got 6-0'd by Luminosity Gaming, tying the series 1-1. OpTic then bounced back in the next two maps, and won the series 3-1. OpTic faced off against Rise Nation in the semi-final, a rematch of the 2016 NA CWL Stage 1 Playoffs grand final. OpTic were up 2-0 in the series, and going into the third map, Breach UL, OpTic were down 0-11 at halftime. However, amazing teamwork from OpTic helped them make an insane comeback, winning the map 13-12 and winning the series 3-0. OpTic faced off against Team eLevate in the winners bracket final, where they took the series in a convincing 3-0 fashion, and went on to the grand finals. In the grand final, OpTic rematched against Team eLevate and on the first map, Evac HP, eLevate had a pretty big lead, but then OpTic started to make the comeback, until in the very last seconds, eLevate ended up taking the map 250-246 and going up 1-0 in the series. In the second map, Stronghold SnD, OpTic lost in round 11 against Team eLevate, going down 0-2 in the series. Facing a potential 2nd best of 5 series, OpTic took third map, Infection UL, and the fourth map, Fringe CTF, to force a Game 5, Breach SnD. OpTic went on to win the map 6-2, completing a reverse sweep, and beating Team eLevate 3-2 to win MLG Anaheim Open 2016.

A Wake Up Call

During the 2016 NA CWL Stage 2 Regular Season, there was much controversy involving OpTic and the Call of Duty World League of issuing fines and forfeits. Things got heated during the league match between OpTic and Hundred Thieves, where OpTic very narrowly won in a round 11 Game 5, winning the series 3-2. However, the competitive integrity of the match was heavily criticized for not being "competitive" and "fair". No one expressed more criticism than Karma, as comments on social media, as well as Crimsix criticizing the structure of the league ultimately had both Karma and Crimsix suspended for one league match against their 2nd matchup against Hundred Thieves. The controversy elevated more when originally OpTic was to face Dream Team in that league match where Karma and Crimsix were suspended; however, the league switched the schedule last minute to accommodate the suspensions, having OpTic forfeit against Hundred Thieves instead of Dream Team. At the very end, OpTic won their last league match against Dream Team, 3-1, and placed 2nd in the season, which is the first ever season OpTic hasn't won since the MLG CoD League Season 3 in Ghosts. OpTic had a total of 4 forfeits during this season, and OpTic went to the 2016 NA CWL Stage 2 Playoffs with the 2nd seed.

At the 2016 NA CWL Stage 2 Playoffs, OpTic faced off against Luminosity Gaming first round. OpTic were up 3-1 in the best-of-7 series, but Luminosity took map 5, Fringe HP; and map 6, Breach UL to force a game 7, Redwood SnD. OpTic went on to lose the map, 6-2, ultimately throwing a 3-1 series lead, and losing the series 4-3 against Luminosity Gaming, giving OpTic a 5-8th place finish at the event. This is the first time OpTic hasn't been to a grand final in Black Ops 3, since UMG South Carolina 2016, and the first time that this roster has been first-rounded in a tournament.

Getting Redemption

After the disappointing 5-8th place finish at the 2016 NA CWL Stage 2 Playoffs, OpTic headed into MLG Orlando Open 2016, trying to prove that they were still the best team in Black Ops 3. In pool play, OpTic finished with a 3-0 record in their pool, beating Luminosity Gaming, Team Kaliber, and Kingsmen, in which that game went to a Game 5: Redwood SnD, with Karma having two 1v3 clutches to secure that victory. In bracket play, OpTic faced off against Ground Zero (formerly Dream Team), and won that match 3-1. Heading into the semi-finals, OpTic faced against Rise Nation. Rise took an early 2-0 lead in the series, until OpTic manage to complete a reverse sweep against Rise, winning the series 3-2, and moving on the Winners Finals against Team eLevate. OpTic won the match in a 3-0 sweep, ultimately securing their spot in the Grand Final. Team EnVyUs managed to be their opponent in the grand final. EnVyUs were able to take the first best-of-5 series against OpTic, winning 3-2, forcing a second best-of-5 series. But OpTic had no mercy, and took the second best-of-5 series against EnVyUs, 3-0, to become the MLG Orlando Open 2016 Champions.

Another Shocking Series of Events

Heading into the 2016 Call of Duty World League Championship, OpTic heavily prepared for this event, in which they completely stopped streaming their scrims and practice. With a legacy on the line, OpTic headed into the tournament with sights on the championship rings. OpTic were placed in Group H, in which their opponents were compLexity Gaming, Pnda Gaming, and Team-LDLC. OpTic's first match in pool play was against compLexity, and coL ended up taking the series 3-2 against OpTic. Facing a potential early exit from Champs, OpTic regrouped and won their matches against Pnda and LDLC, winning 3-1 and 3-0 respectively, ultimately having OpTic place second in their pool.

In bracket play, OpTic faced off against none other than Team EnVyUs in Winners Round 1. EnVyUs managed to get their revenge from MLG Orlando Open 2016, beating OpTic 3-1 and sending OpTic to the losers bracket. This matchup is highly reminiscent of the match between OpTic and Denial eSports back at the Call of Duty Championship 2015, in which both teams matched up Round 1, and OpTic being sent to the losers bracket in both scenarios. Now with additional pressure on their shoulders, OpTic faced off against Team Infused, and won the series 3-1. Their next opponent was Luminosity Gaming, and OpTic took that match in a 3-0 sweep. Their next opponent, in Losers Round 3, was Cloud9, and that roster had none other than ACHES. OpTic managed to take an early 1-0 lead in the series. Cloud9 responded back with a Game 2, Round 11 victory, tying the series 1-1. OpTic took the third map, Infection UL, with FormaL ultimately going on a killing rampage, almost dropping a 40 bomb. The fourth map, Fringe CTF, Cloud9 ended up winning 4-2 to force a Game 5 to decide who moves on in the tournament and who goes home. Game 5 Stronghold SnD ended up going into yet another Round 11, it came down to 1v1 between FormaL and Assault. Despite the questionable controversy of the gunfight, Assault ended up getting the last kill on FormaL to win the Game 5 Round 11 for Cloud9, and taking the series 3-2, sending OpTic home with yet another 7-8th place finish at a Call of Duty Championship. This is OpTic's second year in a row, in which they were the favorites to win, and ultimately placed 7th in both years. This also marks the second consecutive year that ACHES' team has managed to eliminate OpTic from a Call of Duty Championship.

Infinite Warfare

After the uproar over Infinite Warfare's competitive integrity, and Scump fighting for Modern Warfare Remastered to become the competitive title for 2017, many fans questioned OpTic's chances at winning 2017 CWL MLG Las Vegas Open. Their questioning started to dwindle down when OpTic managed to win the first 2K Pro Point Series tournament: MLG GameBattles/2000 Series/North America/2016-12-11. Prior to this, they also declined to attend the PlayStation Experience Invitational, so MLG Vegas was OpTic's first LAN event.

At 2017 CWL MLG Las Vegas Open, OpTic was placed in Group B, alongside Rise Nation, Revenge, and eventually Enigma6 Group. OpTic played Revenge first, and defeated them in a 3-0 series. They went on to play their second pool play match against Rise Nation, with Rise going up 2-0 in the series, and OpTic forcing a Game 5 after. OpTic failed to get the Game 5 win, and Rise won the series 3-2. OpTic's last match was against Enigma6 Group, coming out of the open bracket. If OpTic won this match, they would go on to bracket play. If not, they would go into the losers bracket. E6 showed their prepared gameplay on main stage, and shocked everyone in the venue, as they won in a dominant 3-0 fashion against OpTic, ultimately placing 3rd in their pool and going to the losers bracket. With new determination, OpTic played against compLexity Gaming in their first losers bracket match. They showed no mercy as OpTic won the series 3-0. Their next match was against Elevate EU, and it proved to be a close series; however, OpTic managed to win the series 3-1. Then they rematched against Enigma6 Group, in which OpTic got their revenge and won the series 3-1.

Then it happened. For the first time in over a year and a half, OpTic matched up against FaZe Clan in Losers Round 5. This was the most anticipated match of the entire tournament. Loser of this match went home, so in-game intensity was at an all-time high. FaZe managed to take the first map narrowly, winning the first Hardpoint, 250-238. OpTic answered right back with a Round 11 win on Retaliation SnD, winning 6-5 and tying the series 1-1. Third map, Throwback Uplink, OpTic had the lead for 9 minutes and 50 seconds, until FaZe made a miraculous play call by storming the left side of the map, and Clayster activating his Overdrive payload, sprinted towards OpTic's portal and got a dunk. With that, FaZe won the Uplink 5-4 and were up 2-1 in the series. Fourth map, Breakout Hardpoint, proved to be a struggle for OpTic. They almost managed to mount a comeback, but one mistake from Karma by not sparing his life to earn himself a Warden could've impacted the outcome of the game. FaZe managed to win the map 250-202, winning the series 3-1, and knocking out OpTic with a 5-6th place finish. Despite the loss, the series was the definition of "back-and-forth", and many CoD fans were delighted to have witnessed this matchup for the first time in over a year and a half. OpTic's losing streak against FaZe Clan on LAN continued on.

A Run To Remember, That Came Up Short

After the disappointing 5-6th place finish at 2017 CWL Las Vegas Open, OpTic went back to work, trying to accumulate enough pro points to secure a pool play spot at the 2017 CWL Atlanta Open. They did so by winning the 2K series right before the event, placing themselves into Pool B with Splyce, Evil Geniuses, and Team Allegiance. OpTic started out 3-0 in pool play with 3-0 wins over Splyce and Team Allegiance, and a 3-1 series win over Evil Geniuses. Their last match in pool play was against Pnda Gaming, who qualified from the open bracket. Pnda proved to be a tough opponent as they went up 2-0 in the series, before OpTic managed to win 3 straight maps and close the series 3-2, ultimately placing first in their group with a 4-0 record.

In bracket play, OpTic faced off against Team EnVyUs in the first round of Winners bracket. This was reminiscent of the first-round-matchup of these two teams back at the 2016 Call of Duty World League Championship. EnVyUs faced no pressure and were able to win the series 3-1, knocking OpTic once again into the Losers bracket. On Championship Sunday, OpTic regrouped and faced off against Elevate EU. Elevate managed to take the first map, but OpTic won the next three maps to knock them out, winning the series 3-1. Their next match was a rematch against Pnda Gaming. Pnda took the first map, then OpTic took the next two maps. However, Pnda were able to steal fourth map, and the series went to a Game 5, Crusher SND. OpTic were down 2-5 in the SnD and forced Round 11. A 1v1 between Karma and FA5TBALLA determined the outcome of the match. Karma ended up winning the 1v1 in an intense environment and they won the series 3-2 after a 2-5 round comeback.

Their next match was another rematch against their demons in FaZe Clan. With some mind games being played by Crimsix, OpTic took the first map, Breakout HP, in a commanding fashion, winning 250-100. Second map, Scorch SnD, OpTic were up 3-0 in round count, and then FaZe managed to take the map 6-5, tying the series 1-1. Third map, Throwback UL, was another close game, but OpTic won the map, 7-4, going up 2-1 in the series. The final map, Throwback HP, was an extremely close map. OpTic were able to clutch up in the final moments, and won the map 250-241, knocking out FaZe from the tournament, and ultimately ending their losing streak against them on LAN.

Their next match was against Luminosity Gaming. Fighting for a spot in the Losers finals, OpTic won the first map, with Luminosity taking the next two, gaining a 2-1 lead in the series. OpTic managed to win 2 straight maps to win the series 3-2, and face off another rematch against Team EnVyUs in the Losers finals. OpTic took the series in a quick fashion, winning 3-0, and advanced to the Grand Finals against eUnited.

Since coming from the losers, OpTic had to win two best-of-5 series against eUnited to be crowned the champions. OpTic took the first series easily, winning 3-0, resetting the bracket. In the second series, eUnited took the first map. Map 2, Retaliation SND, eUnited were up 5-2 in round count, and OpTic managed to comeback, winning 4 rounds in a row, taking the second map, tying the series 1-1. OpTic took the third map, gaining a 2-1 lead in the series. However, eUnited proved to be too much for OpTic as they won the fourth map, and ultimately the last map, Throwback SND, 6-4, to be crowned the 2017 CWL Atlanta Open Champions. OpTic placed 2nd at the tournament, but in the process made one of the greatest losers bracket runs of all time.

Back to Winning Form

Less than a week from the disappointment of losing in the grand finals at 2017 CWL Atlanta Open to eUnited, OpTic headed to Paris to compete in the 5th annual ESWC. OpTic were placed in pool B alongside; Team 3G, Red Reserve EU (formally known as Team Orbit EU) and Epsilon eSports, who advanced through the open bracket. Pool Play went smoothly for OpTic with a 3-0 sweep of Team 3G, a 3-1 victory over Epsilon, and a harder fought 3-2 win over Red Reserve. Claiming the top spot in their pool meant that OpTic would face Team EnVyUs in the first round of the winners bracket.

OpTic started the winners bracket against the current world champions Team EnVyUs. However unlike at the 2016 Call of Duty World League Championship and at the 2017 CWL Atlanta Open, OpTic prevailed with a 3-0 clean sweep to move on in the tournament. The second round match up was against Team Infused, and OpTic delivered a 3-0 win over Infused to face FaZe Clan in the winners finals; the first time the two rosters ever faced in the winners finals. OpTic did not give FaZe any breathing room, as they delivered a crushing 3-0 series win over FaZe to advance to the Grand Final.

OpTic played FaZe once again in the grand finals of the 2017 CWL Paris Open. The grand finals contained controversy as during the first map, Throwback Hardpoint, FaZe took a large 40-2 lead within the first hill, and made a large break to take the second hill. However, the internet within the venue went down, meaning the LAN lobby was closed, forcing a match reset. After the game restarted, OpTic won the match 250-181, gaining a 1-0 lead in the series. This was deemed as the turning point of the match-up, as FaZe lost all momentum gained from the win over Rise Nation in the losers final. In the second map, Retaliation SnD, OpTic won with a 6-2 scoreline, taking a 2-0 lead in the series. In the third and final map, Frost Uplink, OpTic cruised to victory, winning the map 15-3, winning the series 3-0, and were crowned the 2017 CWL Paris Open champions. The win was OpTic Gaming's 3rd in a row, and Crimsix's fifth ESWC title in a row. This event win also ended a six-month drought of wins for the organization.

Another Event, Another Victory

The next tournament for the OpTic squad was back on North American soil, and the team went into 2017 CWL Dallas Open as clear favorites after their convincing ESWC victory in Paris. The team started in expectedly dominating fashion, wiping the floor with all 3 of their pool play opposition, including a 3-0 victory over EnVyUs, to finish Friday with a flawless record, winning every map. The Saturday saw OpTic face off against the team coming from the open bracket, which was GosuCrew. Unlike other open bracket teams coming into pools, Gosu Crew were not a push-over team. After they beat all 3 other teams in the pool, including a 3-1 victory over nV, the match against OpTic became a playoff for the top spot in the pool. True to form, Gosu Crew won the first hardpoint, ending OpTic's 23 map win streak (carried over from CWL Paris). However, OpTic bounced back quickly, taking the next 3 maps convincingly, and winning the series 3-1. Now in winner's bracket, OpTic would face Luminosity Gaming in round one. LG got off to a good start in the first map, opening up 100 point lead on Retaliation Hardpoint, but OpTic battled back, and won the map. The Search and Destroy was a similar story, with LG choking a 5-2 lead to lose the map 6-5. The next two maps LG did not let slip away however, taking OpTic to their first game 5 of the tournament. OpTic remained calm and won the map, moving them into round 2, but their sense of invulnerability had undoubtedly been shaken. Next OpTic faced off against Splyce, the last EU team left in the tournament. Again OpTic were tested, but clutched up in the game 5 Search and Destroy, wining another game 5. Now in the winners finals, OpTic came up against long time rivals FaZe. The series was surprisingly a blow out, with only Enable of FaZe performing up to their usual standard, allowing OpTic to win the series comfortably 3-0, and advance to the Grand Final.

A Grand Final To Remember

After beating out FaZe in the losers final 3-1, eUnited came into the Grand Final after making the same losers bracket run as OpTic had done back in CWL Atlanta, and would need to beat OpTic in two best of 5 series to win the event. In the opening map of the Grand Final, OpTic put eUnited to the sword, '100-point clubbing' them, winning by 250-67. Many believed after such a convincing win, eUnited would be too demoralized to bring the series back in map 2. Despite this, eUnited went up 5-1 in the Search and Destroy, and had Gunless with full streaks after only 3 rounds. Somehow though, OpTic battled back, making another incredible S&D comeback, winning 6-5. After suffering such a comeback defeat, and with the crowd now heavily favoring OpTic, eUnited looked doomed in the first best of 5 series. But then they made one of the most incredible reverse sweep comeback's to take the series 3-2. They narrowly won the uplink by 8-7, with a toss in the final seconds. They then obliterated OpTic in the second Hardpoint, winning by over 80 points. Finally, the Search and Destroy was much closer, going all the way to round 11. But after a monster performance from Gunless, who finished the map with 18 kills and only 6 deaths, eUnited won the last round to take the series and complete the unbelievable reverse sweep.

Going into the 2nd best of 5, the eUnited fans started to believe that the impossible was now do-able. However, they did not start well once again. OpTic won the scorch Hardpoint 250-187, and also took the Search and Destroy, going up 2-0 in the series once again. Then came throwback uplink - one of the most incredible uplinks so far in Infinite Warfare. After a tight first round, eUnited opened up a 5 point lead, with the score 6-1 in their favor with only 30 seconds remaining. OpTic rallied all 5 points in the time however, with a buzzer beater toss from Karma, to take the map to overtime. eUnited managed to close it out though, scoring in 46 seconds, and then scoring again in the second side to close out the map with the use of specalists. Back on hardpoint, eUnited played well as a team, including some very smart plays from Prestinni to secure spawns for his team, and won the map 250-118. Now with eUnited on the verge of 2 reverse sweeps and winning the tournament, it was time for the veteran players on OpTic to step up in the game 5, Scorch Search and Destroy. And stepped up did Karma, opening up 7-1, gaining full streaks and just steamrolling through the eUnited players. Karma clutched 2 1v2's, and got an ace in round 4, leading his team to a dominating 6-0 win on the final map, winning OG the tournament. The packed crowd went wild as OpTic collected the trophy, and Scump the MVP, for his fantastic slaying performance throughout the tournament.

CWL Global Pro League Season 1 - Joy & Heartbreak

The CWL Global Pro League format was changed for the Infinite Warfare season, instead of an online league with the top eight teams qualifying for the single elimination LAN tournament the entire tournament was held on LAN. The top 16 teams on Pro Points were entered into the league which contained 4 groups of 4 teams with the top 2 advancing to the double elimination tournament. OpTic were placed in the Green group along with Enigma 6, Elevate & Red Reserve. OpTic as expected topped the group to advance to the Elimination style tournament. The qualification set a record of all the weeks as OpTic Gaming were the only team to qualify unbeaten with a 6-0 game record.

The Elimination style tournament was held 2 weeks after the qualifying group with the other 7 teams being Envyus, Splyce, EG, FaZe Clan, eUnited, LG and Enigma 6. OpTic were drawn with FaZe Clan in the first round of winners bracket, before the game a lot of comments were made by OpTic members and other players of the Call of Duty Community about how this match was the easiest available for OpTic due to the whitewashes and victories at previous tournaments and the 3 first maps being 3 of OpTics best. However, despite taking the first Hardpoint game, FaZe regrouped and took the next three maps to close the game with a 3-1 win sending OpTic to the losers bracket. OpTics first game of the losers bracket was against Team Envyus who had lost to Luminosity, OpTic dominated them 3-0 to progress. Next up was Enigma 6 who OpTic had beaten twice in their group to qualify, OpTic again won 3-0 to advance to championship Sunday. This however was where OpTic tournament ended, Luminosity played almost flawless in the hardpoint just missing out on "100 point clubbing" them. The SnD was controlled in the early rounds by LG with them taking a 5-1 lead, however OpTic pulled off the near impossible and turned the map on it's head winning 6-5 to level the series. That was the end of the momentum however as LG closed the series with a 3-2 Throwback Uplink win and another map win on Scorch Hardpoint to win the game 3-1 thus sending OpTic home. OpTic finished with a disappointing 4th place however gained automatic entry into the group stages for the final 3 events; MLG Anaheim, CWL Global Pro League Season 2 (which will follow the same format) & the Call Of Duty Championship 2017.